130 years old park of Sokolniki: from hunting land to the fine sample of garden art

Sokolniki is one of the biggest parks in Moscow, very popular among the Moscow people and guests of the Russian capital. Actually, Sokolniki is a name of profession, tied with hunting: Sokolniki are the people, who trained hawks for the sport of kings. Since the 15th the forests here were the favorite hunting place of the Moscow princes and, later, tsars. The whole village of Sokolniki was situated there in the 17th century serving the needs of the royal hunting. Later the forest was used for military maneuvers, and then the park was laid out there and used for the festivities. Finally it was turned into that we have now: a huge more or less regular park with 7 radial, 1 ring and 2 semi-circular alleys, with restaurants, sports complexes, skating rinks in winter and beaches functioning in summer, and even rose houses. But the name of this park and of the big district on the East of Moscow is still the same: Sokolniki. Some events also take place in the park, for example, the Ice-Cream Fest, coming soon, on the May, 30.